Thursday, December 16, 2010

Non-weather roundup of news...

Bon Jovi will perform in Israel in the coming year, the band's lead singer, Jon Bon Jovi, told Larry King on his talk show.

During an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Bon Jovi said the rock band would include Israel on its list of stops during its "The Circle" world tour in 2011. The group, which was at the height of its popularity in the 1980s, also will visit Greece for the first time.

Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism predates his DUI. Winona Ryder spoke with GQ for their January issue.

(A Mel Gibson anecdote: "I remember, like, fifteen years ago, I was at one of those big Hollywood parties. And he was really drunk. I was with my friend, who's gay. He made a really horrible gay joke. And somehow it came up that I was Jewish. He said something about 'oven dodgers,' but I didn't get it. I'd never heard that before. It was just this weird, weird moment. I was like, 'He's anti-Semitic and he's homophobic.' No one believed me!")

It's very sad that no one believed her. I will not see The Beaver and anyone that defends Mel Gibson's antics needs serious counseling. Following Mel's DUI and anti-Semitic remarks, I pledged to never see another Mel Gibson movie ever.

But the aside was pronounced by Henry Kissinger, a German-born Jew who fled Nazi horrors as a child and who has been honored by multiple Jewish organizations as one of Israel’s saviors during its darkest days, when he was secretary of state to President Nixon.

“If they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern,” Kissinger is heard saying on the latest batch of Nixon-era Oval Office tapes released by the Nixon Library.[...]

“The quotations ascribed to me in the transcript of the conversation with President Nixon must be viewed in the context of the time,” Kissinger wrote to JTA.

He and Nixon pursued the issue of Soviet Jewish emigration as a humanitarian matter separate from foreign policy issues in order to avoid questions of sovereignty and because normal diplomatic channels were closed, Kissinger wrote.

“By this method and the persistent private representation at the highest level we managed to raise emigration from 700 per year to close to 40,000 in 1972,” Kissinger wrote. “We disagreed with the Jackson Amendment, which made Jewish emigration a foreign policy issue. We feared that the Amendment would reduce emigration, which is exactly what happened. Jewish emigration never reached the level of 40,000 again until the Soviet Union collapsed. The conversation between Nixon and me must be seen in the context of that dispute and of our distinction between a foreign policy and a humanitarian approach.”[...]

Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that approach goes too far.

The ADL issued a statement saying that Kissinger’s comments show a “disturbing and even callous insensitivity toward the fate of Soviet Jews” and are a reminder that “even great individuals are flawed.” But, it noted, “Dr. Kissinger’s contributions to the safety and security of the U.S. and Israel have solidly established his legacy as a champion of democracy and as a committed advocate for preserving the well-being of the Jewish state of Israel."

Foxman elaborated in an interview with JTA.

“He worked in an atmosphere that was intimidatingly anti-Semitic toward Jews,” the ADL leader said of Kissinger. “We need to understand the intimidation under which it occurred.”

The European Union will not recognize Palestinian statehood until an "appropriate" time, its Foreign Affairs Council said in a statement.

The 27 EU foreign ministers meeting Monday in Brussels issued the statement in response to a letter from Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat to EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton asking the body to join those countries that already have recognized a unilaterally declared Palestinian state.

Argentina and Brazil announced their support last week of a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.

"The EU commends the work of the Palestinian Authority in building the institutions of the future State of Palestine and reiterates its full support for their endeavors in this regard and the (Palestine Prime Minister Salam) Fayyad plan," read the EU Foreign Affairs Council's statement.

"[The council] reiterates its readiness, when appropriate, to recognize a Palestinian state," it added, saying that "urgent progress is needed towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

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Some info:Though a Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts fan, The Kentucky Democrat is currently based in Chicago. Solzman is a social commentator on sports, politics, and entertainment. Solzman currently writes a number of book reviews for The Kentucky Democrat in the categories of sports, humor, entertainment, politics, American history, and select fiction and science-fiction.

If you would like for Solzman to review a book, please feel free to get in touch with her. Kentucky Wildcats: 2012 National Champions St. Louis Cardinals: 2011 World Series Champions! Boston Celtics: 2008 World Champions! Indianapolis Colts: 2007 Super Bowl Champions
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